Thicker Than Blood
by Flamboyant Writer
Summary: Everybody has their secrets they hold on until their death. Secrets that could put something into motion. They protected their secrets with deceit, so unforgiving they didn't care who they hurt. Mikan Sakura was so fed up with the secrets revolved around her. Every turn she had made in her life, secrets lingered in the corner, taunting her. It was time for her to demand the truth.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice isn't mine**

* * *

 **Prologue**

Kazumi Yukihira was panicked and, believe it or not, beyond terrified. He couldn't remember the last time he was this scared. Although his pose was calm and collected as always. His mind was whizzing with possible scenarios happening right now to his niece.

Images played in his mind, with his only niece bloodied, bruised and in the brink of death. He couldn't shake the image out of his mind and he knew the only thing he needed right now was to assign a team and assured him of her safety.

The slamming sound when the wooden door opened and crashed to the wall quite surprised him. He directed his sight and found Hyuuga and his gang flanked by Narumi and Jinno-sensei were marching down to his desk. Their face were stretched from worry to furious.

As soon as the fire wielder entered the room, the temperature rose. Kazumi was no fool, behind Natsume Hyuuga's calm composure he was furious. The dark haired teen's pointed look was enough to know that he wanted an explanation and he was appreciative he didn't start shouting or worse.

"What the fuck, Yukihira?! What the hell were you thinking?!"Jinno-sensei marched with his lightning webbed around him. Truly, if it was because of other circumstances that made him like that, it would be funny. He was never once lost his composure and surely as a teacher, swearing in front of students were clearly prohibited. Nevertheless, humor was lost in the current situation.

"Are you trying to kill her?! Sending an eighteen year old girl to AAO as an intel when she had no memory of her past?! Are you out of your bloody mind?!" This time, it was Narumi Anjou. His anger matched Jinno's perfectly.

"Silence!" Kazumi replied. He was already standing behind his desk. His brows were taut and his body rigid whilst his eyes glinted with fury as well. He used the moment of silence to regain his breath as he was already huffing in anger. "I never sent her to AAO. She volunteered herself."

The shock was evidence in their expressions as silence hung in the air. Kazumi once again filled the silence with his forced calm voice. "She came to me a month ago, after her shocking revelation that she had never forget a thing. She stored some of her remaining power to nullify my alice when I was detecting her alice and used some to undo the memory wiping alice."

Silence once again filled the room, until the fire wielder decided to break it. "Didn't she used all of her alice to try and save me from death?" He questioned. The disbelieving tone filled his voice. The High School principal sighed. For once, his emotions were bared.

"I asked her the same question, in which she answer that she will give some explanation when the time is right." He responded weakly.

"So, you just let her go like that?!" The Hyuuga shouted furiously. Kazumi knew his answers hadn't justified his action in allowing Mikan to be an intel at AAO. Nevertheless, he was tired and a worried parent. "I _didn't_ let her go like that, Hyuuga. If you must know, I kept her confined for almost three years in Kyoto. Carefully controlling her by deploying spies so I can always keep an eye on her. Don't you dare accuse me to neglect her for one second." The principal said sternly with his hands flat on his desk and eyes glinted with fury. "I let her go because she offered me a very good argument. She knows AAO want to manipulate her, taking charge of her lost memories by filling her mind with their own fabricated ones. They want to make her turn against us. She also knows AAO had developed a new kind of chemical they dug out from the earth. This chemical is very similar like the amplification alice, but better. It strengthens the alice and made it almost unlimited. She knows they are planning something enormous. So, she volunteer to once again selflessly in saving everyone and I couldn't reject her." He finished, somehow hotly, as if he was angry with himself. Along with his speech, his anger subsided a bit. Natsume cursed quietly, still unsatisfied with the answer.

"Still, you could send someone more qualified in this field." Natsume said adamantly. "She's the one they want, Hyuuga and do not play stupid. If I sent someone from the academy, AAO would know they are from the academy." The Principal responded hotly.

"Funny isn't it? They hate alices and want to eradicate us from the face of the earth, yet to achieve the goal, they are using alices too." The respond came from Kokoro Yome who had watched the entire exchange in silence.

"Well, that _is_ the best plan. They slaved us alices to kill each other until we are nothing but myths. They wouldn't want to dirtied their hands in, what I think, is a bloody ordeal. When the time is right, they will emerge as heroes. Eradicating us completely from the face of the earth." Tsubasa Andou piped up whilst looking satisfied with his explanation.

"Yeah, but to what end? What do they want? And why do they hate us so much?" said a curly haired girl, Sumire Shouda. Natsume clicked his tongue at the question. "It doesn't matter what they want in the end. But, Shadow is right. The ordeal will spread terror among ordinary people. What I don't understand is that Alices were never derived from genetics. They are no specific mapping of genetics to create a person with alice. It is why we're unique and branded as a different race altogether. How will they stop alices being bred?"

"With my kind of alice." Said the principal. He was now sitting with his arms resting on the armrests. His eyes were unfocused as if he was lost in his thoughts. "You see, that is why I am a priceless asset for the academy. I have a very rare alice, which with my mastery and almost unlimited type, I am a valuable jewel for the AAO."

"Makes sense. But, what's bugging me is why Mikan?" Anna Umenomiya questioned. "It's her nullification alice. They will use her like some kind of a shield, if somehow we, alices, decided to fight back. She can block any alices." Ruka Nogi explained calmly.

"It doesn't matter. Can we get her out now? She has been there too long, surely she already got her intel." Natsume asked worriedly. His breath was now came in short intake of oxygen.

"I'm afraid not. If you get her now, not only she who will be in grave danger, but also the entire population of alices. Yet, her intel isn't enough. We have to be patient, Hyuuga and trust her. That is only thing to ensure her safety." Kazumi said whilst stared imploringly at the young Hyuuga who countered with his own fierce glare.


	2. Chapter 1 - The Tornado

**Disclaimer : I don't own Gakuen Alice**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 - The Tornado**

It was the usual morning for Mikan Sakura. She would wake up at five thirty, showered, dressed and headed straight to the dining room for breakfast at exactly a quarter to six. However, the routine was somehow different that day. She felt that something had shifted and something was off, even from the beginning when she woke up.

She put on her usual attire that consisted of her underwear layered with her thin white tank top and on top of it was a black t-shirt. Her legs were wrapped by black pants and perfectly laced black combat boots. She combed and pulled her shoulder length hair into a low ponytail. Satisfied with her look, she went out of her room.

Before she went out, she holstered her trusty pair of silver MP-44 on her waistband holster. Her heart was pumping her adrenaline faster which heightened her sense of anticipation. She hated the fact that she didn't even know what was coming for her. So, the guns were for precautions.

She went out the door and locked it, slightly pulling the handle to make sure it was locked perfectly. She needn't errors happened when she was too close to crack AAO's code. The fate of her fellow alices now laid rest on her hands, either she would bring safety or destroyed them completely. She knew her uncle believed strongly that she was seeking revenge of her parent's death. Truly, if she was, she wouldn't use the word, she would just say that they were her influence. Same intentions, different words.

Perhaps her true intention was to kill the horrific nightmare. Countless nights she spent terrorized by the image of her late parents bruised and bloodied, gasping for breath as they laid bleeding. She knew all too well that revenge won't bring her parents back to her, but at least she could put them to justice for what they had done. One had already paid the price.

Marching down the empty corridor of the compound, she double checked her agenda for today. Her usual one on one with the boss for her daily dose of her persuasive talks were scheduled first thing after breakfast, then she would have to train. The train kept her mind and body always sharp. It exercised her body to act faster, stronger and better, resulting in almost zero errors and controlled reflexes. Plus, it trained her how to fight in a hand to hand combat and handle a gun.

The persuasive chat, however, brought her advantage. The more she act like they wanted her to act, the higher she would be placed in their hierarchy. She was now always invited to the higher-ups meeting. They found her so-called anger and frustration - of her lost memories and unexplainable happenings in her life - their ally. They wanted her to direct this bottled up anger to ruin Alices. All in all, they trained her to be a perfect weapon. Her nullification alice combined with their special chemical, A-99, would obliterate alices once and for all. Still, even when her alice was combined with A-99, they didn't have enough army yet.

Putting her thoughts aside, she entered the dining room, blending in with the jostling crowd to get her breakfast. "Morning, sunshine!" said someone behind her.

Mikan turned her head and found her friend, Keiko Abe. It was almost painful to think she was actually lying to Keiko. She was a nice girl, a perfect material for a close friend. She was also a very good listener and wise, despite her age. Yet, here Mikan was, shamelessly befriending a girl that she would soon betray.

"Hi, Keiko. Lovely morning, huh?" Mikan said flatly, eyeing the empty plate of once a plateful of chicken katsu. Keiko snickered behind her. "It's your own damn fault. You should wake up sooner. You know right, the only motivation these idiots have to wake up in the morning is nice food. It has been a long time since we ate katsu."

"Yeah, well, it didn't mean they can just hog the food. Look there." Mikan said and pointed to the guy sitting in the far-east corner of the room. "It seems Sora Yamada hasn't eaten in like a month." She said, annoyed.

Keiko followed where her friend was looking and chuckled "He's a big boy. He needs a lot of protein to build that hotter-than-sun abs." Keiko reasoned. Mikan responded with a scoff and focused in getting her plate filled with food as soon as she can grab them.

"So… I heard from a little birdie that the boss is going to promote you." Keiko whispered so only Mikan could pick up what she said. "Promote?" Mikan questioned whilst arching her brows.

"Yeah. I mean, one-twentieth of this whole army already answered to your command and the last mission went so well, they decided to give you more people."

"More people means more problems. Seriously, my leadership is still questionable, besides whatever happened in the last mission was a product of luck."

"Well, you lucky bitch, seems you're so unlucky today to receive more people. 'sides, you're not a bad leader. The boss seems to put a lot of trust in you."

Mikan was not a megalomaniac, but she couldn't help but produce a triumphant smile. More army meant higher position. The past two weeks, she had been so anxious that she had screwed everything up. The boss hadn't called her into his office and didn't even spare a glance at her when she passed him, then guards started to appear many more near her. She suspected that he knew she was a mole in his master plan to take alice down, but after fourteen agonizing days, the boss called her in.

"In case you didn't notice, I brought two of my teammates to the infirmary because they got shot. It's too early to believe the rumor." Mikan argued. It was true. They supposed to 'meet' this freelance arms dealer and intimidate him a bit, but god has another plan, the large number of local militia swarmed them. If their timing was false, they would've all be dead by now.

"Yeah, I notice, but you still get the valuable intel. Trust me, he's going to promote you."

She didn't respond and they both filled their plate with basically what was left on the table. They sat on the left side of the room and ate in silence. Mikan's initial victory watered her doubt in her heart. If what Keiko said was true, then soon the boss would send her in the real battlefield, the fight against alices. She knew her time was ticking, counting down to zero and soon she had to pick up her ass and bolt from AAO compound, preferably a covert exfil. Then, her time would be limited. They would soon know she had left and would probably launch the attack quicker. Mikan sighed quietly. She missed her nonchalant life.

* * *

Mikan stalked to the boss's office. No matter how many times she walked there, a feeling similar to adrenaline filled anticipation always crept up her whole body. She had tried so many ways to calm down, nevertheless they never worked. Her heart always jumped at the slightest sound and even flinched when she saw her own shadow. It was pathetic, but she couldn't help it. As sadistic as it sounded, she just want to pull the trigger and plant her bullet deep inside her enemy's head, killing him instantly. Yet, she had to be clever and patient. Even if she wanted to commit murder, she needed to do it somewhere, where killing is legal.

Too soon she faced a heavy looking door. She took a breath and exhaled it slowly, willing her heart to just calm down. With a swift knock, she was answered by a faint 'come in'. She twisted the knob and pulled the door. What greeted her was a pentagonal room, with books towering every side. A pristine glass chandelier hung from the tall ceiling with additional wall lamps on the side. The floor was covered with wooden panel and a Moroccan rug laid on top of it. Early afternoon light streamed from the high windows, giving the entire room a majestic feel. It would be a pleasant sight indeed, if she needn't to face her enemy.

Ishikawa Kazuto sat on his desk with his elbow rested on his armrest and fingers laced together. Instantly she felt sick when she saw the proud smile on his face. He wasn't the stereotype old leader, in fact he was quite young. Perhaps he was in his late twenties with hair slicked back to the side and some fell to his forehead. If she didn't hate him so much, she would say he was very attractive. With his green hypnotizing eyes and sharp features, he could date any girl he wanted. He always looked official with his crisp three-piece suit and pricey watch. Today, she had feeling he wore a Rolex.

"Ah, Mikan Sakura. So good to see you. Please, sit." He stood up and gestured the leather chair in front of his desk. Masking her anxiety she put on her poker face and sat on the comfy chair. As she sat down, Kazuto sat down too. She could feel his eyes carefully scanning her with masked interest. The intensity in his eyes reminded her of her beloved. The feeling hit her, she had missed him terribly.

"Are you well, Mikan? You seem awfully nervous. Perhaps a tea?" Before she could answer he had already pushed a steaming cup of tea in front of her. "No sugar, just as you like it." he said with a snake like smile.

Mikan nodded appreciative. "Thank you." She was rather suspicious of the tea, so she just stared at it. Kazuto turned his back on her and traced his fingers on the spines of his neatly stacked books. She reminded her of 'V' from one of her favorite movie, V for Vendetta. No doubt he was smart and very mysterious like V was. Both of them have questionable sanity too and the only thing that was different, V fought to make England a better place, whilst Kazuto wanted to make Japan worse. However, it _was_ a matter of perspective.

Kazuto pulled a medium sized book with green leather cover. It was old with the pages yellowed and dusty. He gave the book to Mikan as she took it firmly. "That, Miss Sakura, is one of the banned books in Japan. Highly valuable as it contained one of Japan's darkest age. Perhaps the book will explain some reasons why we dislike alices." He said calmly with a dripping venom in his voice as he said his last line. Mikan couldn't help but felt intrigued and it was written all over her face. Mikan bit her bottom lip and inspected the book on her hand. At times she felt so very stupid for doing something so ridiculously foolish and right now she felt like an idiot. She never even asked herself why the Anti-Alice hated the alices so much.

* * *

Kazuto watched the girl as she opened the book tentatively. He wasn't stupid. For two weeks after he found out that Mikan Sakura never really forgot her past in the academy and possibly seeking revenge of her mother's death, he had been thinking to naturally turn her into against the alices and made her realize that alices were the reason why her mother died. He then realized that honesty was his best choice and she needed to learn it quickly. He didn't want to lose his best weapon now nor ever.

He had to admit though, the girl was good. She was smart and resourceful, like her mother. She knew their advanced technology couldn't detect her traditional means in sending her intels to the academy. She had this animal pheromone alice that made her capable of sending her intels by animals that passed the compound. She write her intels in a recycled paper, attached them to the animal and commanded them to send to the academy.

Truly, if he was honest to himself, Yuka Azumi's death was such a pity. She was such a valuable asset, just like her husband and daughter. He heard rumor that Yuka's stealing alice had also passed down to her. Whether she had lost it or not, he had yet to see.

Kazuto stared at Yuka's offspring. Her features were of her mother's. From her brunette her, hazel eyes, facial features to her slim form, all he could see was Yuka reincarnated, yet with a slightly different personality. Mikan was hardened by the pain of life, yet she was still cheerful albeit a little vengeful whilst Yuka was bitter.

Then again, he had no sympathy for Yuka. She was simply an asset, so was her daughter, Mikan Sakura or Mikan Yukihira.

He watched as the book emerged Mikan completely in it's words as they slowly unfolded secrets after secrets. Her expression changed to surprise as her eyes widen. His mouth pulled into a small smile. His master plan will work beautifully. Before, he always thought only through deception and manipulation were the ways to gain allegiance, but if you were on the right side, you would never had to lie. Truth was the best way.

* * *

She closed the door to Kazuto's room. The book she read left her mind in a complete whirlwind of emotions. Her mind was flooded by questions, which she partially hated because it made her question herself. Was she really that ruthless to avenge her mother and protect the alices from being nonexistent? The answer was supposed to be a 'No', but did she really want to be a misguided person?

The history book strongly hinted that alices we're man made human race that failed and labeled as a disease. It also narrated that alices had been tormented by the government for their abnormality and failure as weapons. In retaliation, alices attempted to coup the government which gained an estimated death toll of forty thousand soldiers and civilians- mostly women and children. So, in result, the government was forced to strike a deal with alices. The deal was to eradicate all evidence of the attempted coup; burn every evidence, incarcerate activists that were against alices, banned history books that contained any evidence, establish an institution for alices, replaced every history books with the ones that sung their praises, instilled an idea that alices were superior. In the wake of the destruction, AAO emerge as the bringer of truth, carrying the bitter legacy, hate and thirst for revenge.

Mikan ambled away from the door. Suddenly, she felt too tired to go train. The exercise of the mind apparently brought more fatigue than physical exercise. She just wanted to shower, eat and sleep to rearrange her mind and her purpose of coming here. She needed herself to believe again that AAO was no victim of the past. They were the terrorist. Besides, she didn't know if that history book was written for someone else's benefit, particularly the AAO to gain supporter, as there were no proof.

She didn't know how, but she found herself in front of her room. Quickly, she pulled her keys and jammed it to the keyhole. The sight of her room was such a fresh air from the stifling compound aura. She let herself hugged by the mattress and her eyes closed. Not even a minute, she was already dead to the world.

* * *

Back in the academy, Natsume Hyuuga was restless. He was angry, frustrated and anxious as he paced the recreation room. He had been lied too many times to count, yet to hear his beloved's request for her uncle to lie to him was painful. Even if it was a white lie, it was still a lie. He had believed that Mikan's had already forgotten about their past of their tender moments, of their fights to battle the odds so they could be with each other, of those longing moments when she was trapped and of his promise to come back to her no matter what.

Eventually, his anxiety was contagious until Tsubasa Andou had enough. "Sit down Natsume. You're pacing made me even more anxious." He said with an edge on his voice. Natsume huffed his breath harshly and finally chose to sit down on one of the couches. "I can't believe she has lied to us. No wonder she had her uncle to lie for her. She's such a lousy liar."

"I wouldn't say that. Right now, she is probably the best liar among us and damn she's smart. She is using whatever alices we gave them in the bellflower bouquet. I'd say she'll be fine." Tonouchi Akira piped up. He then took a long drag from his cigar, fully enjoying the calming sensation it brought. "I know you're worried, Natsume. But the principal's right, we had to wait for Mikan. She had been sending covert intels that can save many lives. Surely, if they had known, she would already sent a distress message." He said confidently. Honestly, Tono was worried too, but he learned from his countless missions for the academy that one must never disrupt an intel mission. The ultimate penalty for that kind of mission was death. He knew Natsume knew too, but a worried and anxious Natsume tend to make poor judgment of the situation.

"I still can't believe the HSP would let her go. It's insane." Ruka said under his breath. Tono, who looked offended, made a face to Ruka. "She's anything but fragile. Her life was marred by the deaths of her parents, by lies that everybody fed her yet she was still smiling like the world is full of sunshine and rainbow. She's capable to be level headed too when sometimes she can be stupid. You shouldn't underestimate her."

Ruka in turned frowned a little bit. "I'm not underestimating her. It's just… I mean admit it, you guys have protected Mikan countless times, then today we just found out she didn't need us anymore. Don't you feel worried?" He said adamantly.

In the corner, Koko snickered and joked happily. "Ah, the mother hen has spoken." Ruka in response threw a glare at him.

"We need to get her out. I have a strong feeling something is not right." Natsume said finally and sat on a couch. "Clearly someone who leads this kind of organization is a smart and careful person. He would know if someone is spying on him, sending covert intels behind his back." He started and passed a glance on everyone in the room. "Repercussions for spying in AAO, as we know, is torturous. Yuka Azumi died in a painful way, so is my mother. Mikan has already been there for a month. Surely in those thirty long days they would already know what she has done." He said sternly and passed a look on everyone, clearly looking for a response.

After a half of minute, Tono sighed heavily and raked his fingers through his hair. "How do we get into the compound? The last time I went there, my ass got torched and I was stealthy. If we get in with a bang, it's a one way ticket to torture room."

"Then you worked alone. This time we're going as a team." Natsume said. Everyone in the room looked at Natsume intently and ready to listen to what he said. "We're going to need a diversion if we're going to get in. A blast with a loud bang is perfect to attract as many attentions. No, we're not going for C4 or dynamite, we're going to plant something more practical, like homemade timed chemical bomb, plant it anywhere needed. We took out anyone who's stalling and strip their uniform, 'cause we're going to need camouflage. Like it or not, we're gonna have to use guns. We'll infiltrate the compound and escort Mikan out. If possible, the bomb will detonate in fifteen minutes, creating a diversion for us to get out. It also means we're going to do this in under fifteen minutes or we're trapped."

Tsubasa let out a low whistle and straightened his back. "That is one elaborate plan. Question is, how do we know where we're going to put the explosives? We don't have a map of the compound. I mean, we're not going there blindly, right?"

"No, we're not. We're going to search Alice Academy database, particularly HSP's. I'm sure Mikan had already updated the blueprint of the compound. Anyway, the night is still young, we're going to do it tonight. So, Ogasawara, can you make the explosives?" He asked Nonoko Ogasawara, who only smiled confidently and crossed her arms on her chest. "Piece of cake."

* * *

Mikan was lost in her dream when a loud bang woke her. She sprung up to her feet immediately, snatched her guns and bolt to the door. In the corridor people we're already milling around and some went to investigate the sound, up her head, the alarm went off noisily. She saw Keiko approached her.

"What the hell happened?" She questioned. It was clear she was annoyed yet full of anticipation. Mikan shook her head. "C'mon. let's check it out."

Both of them passed through the maze like corridor of the compound. Their feet pounded the ground as they ran. They went left, then right, up the stairs, turned right to a fork. Both of them we're already panting and tried catch their breath.

"You go left and I go right." Mikan commended. Not even a second passed, Keiko already bolted. Mikan turned right and head straight the corridor. On the end of it, she found her team mates with their gun ready. Reika Hirano, her sniper, put her finger on her lips and motioned towards the left corridor. Sliding quietly in front of her team mates, she pulled her M1911. Mikan could hear people, six or five people, walked down the corridor. Their voices slowly getting louder and Mikan waited until they're close enough before eliminating them.

She waited patiently. She could feel the adrenaline coursing in her veins through her blood, making her more alert and faster. Her breath came in long inhale and exhale as she steadied the guns in her hand. When the pounding sound was closer, she moved to the left and aimed straight towards the intruders head. The only thing that kept her from pulling the trigger was the astonished faces of them.

It was as if the time slowed down. She scanned the faces of Ruka Nogi, Goshima Hijiri, Tonouchi Akira, Tsubasa Ando and finally, Natsume Hyuuga. All of them aimed their stolen rifles to her and her team mates' faces. The emotions fleeting in her heart were quick to change, from happiness in seeing them again, anger that they came without notice, betrayal that her uncle broke their promise and even sorry for what she would do next. With a fierce look, she kept aiming her pistols at their faces.

"Well, well, well, caught in the lion's den huh, _alices_?" A male voice came from behind her. The way he said 'alice' was as if he was saying something disgusting. "So, captain, are you going to shoot them or not?" Reika asked haughtily. Mikan rolled her eyes. She never liked Reika and her arrogance. "I'm sorry." Came the answer from Mikan.

In a fast motion, she holstered one of her pistols and pulled a shock charge. She turned around and flipped the charge towards her team mates' direction. Before they could react, the charge already released a burst of electricity, shocking them into oblivion for a good half an hour. After she was satisfied, she turned around and glared at the unruly band of alices.

"What. The hell. Were you thinking? Explain!" The staccato in her voice plus her fierce glare was enough evidence that she was livid. Matching the fierceness of her glare, Natsume took a step forward and answered hotly. "Explain? Explain?! Explain this! I was peacefully doing my work when I received word that you're in the AAO for a month already, a field commander no less and collecting god forsaken's intelligence! What were you thinking? Dumb ways to die, huh, stupid?" Natsume challenged Mikan's full of fury stare.

Refusing to back down, she shouted her response. "Stop calling me names, Idiot! What I do here is going to save many lives, stupid!"

"Many lives? What about your life? Must you be selfishly selfless all the time?!"

"Oh! Don't you dare tell me about being selfishly selfless! What about you, huh? You're such a hypocrite!"

Natsume was about to respond when Tsubasa finally had enough of their shouting. "Enough you two! We don't have time for your lovers quarrel! We have less than six minutes to get out of this building and enemy's men are on their way here!"

Mikan turned her focus from Natsume to Tsubasa then to Tono who was listening intently on the ear phone. Her gaze then shifted to Ruka who looked very awkward in a soldier's gear and an actual working rifle. He offered her a small smile which she returned kindly.

"All of you, help me hide them in that storage room." Mikan said while pointing at the dim lighted room in the corner of the corridor. "We're going to strip them out of their uniform and weapons. Those gear will provide us some camouflage on our way out."

Without being asked twice, they did what she asked and quickly putting their gear and uniforms on themselves. Mikan walked to a nearby vent and forced it to open in a brute strength. "Natsume, passed me that green tube from the girl's flak jacket."

Natsume passed the object onto Mikan's waiting hand. "What's that?" he asked whilst Mikan was busy pushing buttons. "This is an EMP charge. When this charge went off in about a minute, it's going to release an electromagnetic pulse which would render all electricity based gears, weapons, tools etc. useless. Even the lights will went off. This will give us a big advantage in getting out of here." She explained while putting the charge carefully in the vent and closed the cover.

"Say, what's your transport?" She asked whilst motioned her friends to follow her down the long corridor. "We're in for a covert exfil hopefully, land vehicle behind the east security room through the woods." Natsume replied and matched Mikan's pace.

They turned left in the T-junction, then left again and straight in the narrow corridor. "C'mon! We must reach the ammo room before the EMP went off!"

40 seconds had passed when they went down the stairs and found a locked door. Opening the door cost them another ten seconds. "Natsume take those flashlights from the drawers, Ruka take the smoke grenades, Tono-senpai, the flash bangs and Tsubasa-senpai take the frag grenades!" Mikan shouted. Everybody scrambled to find their weapons and Mikan holstered another shock charge and EMP grenades. Mentally she counted down the seconds before the EMP charge went off.

They went still after they finished collecting, waiting for another order from Mikan. They only have five seconds left. "Before I completely forget, It's nice to see you guys." Mikan said smiling which they returned with their own smiles. "Now, we wait."

3…

2…

1…

Soon, the light over their heads flickered off and the building rumbled in the sudden cut of electricity. They pulled out their flashlights and clicked it on. "Okay, now, listen. The dark will give us a huge advantage in getting us out of here. But like Tono-senpai said, the guards are on their way here, so watch your step and check every corner. I don't fancy getting electrocuted by their shock rifles and one more thing, turn off all of your lights. We're going to only need one." Mikan said sternly.

She pulled the door handle carefully and checked her sides. They moved quietly in the dark with only one beacon of light coming through Mikan's flashlight. They we're filled with anticipation as they walked down the stairs to reach the ground floor. Every creaked the metal stairs made, they winced and tried their best to move fast and quietly.

After their fifth and final flight of stairs, Mikan shot out her hand to halt them. "Stop." She was all ear when she stained to hear the creaking sound in front of her. Her flashlight couldn't do much, as it only light their way one meter ahead. "Do you hear that?" She whispered worriedly as the creaking sound came the second time.

"What is that?" Ruka whispered. "Dunno. Probably-" her words cut off when all of the sudden, bright lights shined over them. Mikan winced from the sudden burst of light in her eyes and strained to keep her eyes open. Once recovered, the sight before them brought horror.

In front of them was a dozen of AAO soldiers with their shock rifles pointed at them. "Guys, run! NOW!" Without a second thought, they bolted to the right, narrowly missing the shock bullets whizzed past through them. The soldiers followed them through the narrow corridor and shot them repeatedly. Mikan turned around and fired her rifle, hitting a few soldiers in the chest. She cursed loudly as they fell and got up for their bulletproof vest protected them from her deadly bullets.

The shock bullets they fired, latched onto the walls and blasted in a spider web form. One got to close to their feet and blow up on Ruka's legs. "Argh!" The electricity convulsed him as he laid helplessly on the floor and the soldiers hot on their trail. "Get him up!" Mikan commanded as Tono and Tsubasa hoisted a weak Ruka. Natsume and Mikan fired their guns on their pursuers, attempting to shoot them at their unprotected body parts. Tsubasa and Tono moved forward down the corridor as fast as they can. "You go." Natsume urged her whilst firing his guns.

Turning around, she matched her friend's pace. They turn left, then to the right when they arrived at a hall with a large door looming over them. Before them were another two dozens of guard and without another thought, she fired their necks, arms and legs, anywhere to disarm them. Her shots were accompanied her friends and soon they fell down, leaving three soldiers charged at them viciously.

They were slowed down considerably by Ruka's unconscious body as they tried to cover him from bullets whizzing through them in a frenzied speed. They came close to the three soldiers, which one of them charged and tried to hit Mikan with the butt of his gun. Switching quickly to her tactical knife, she jammed it to her attacker's neck. Blood splattered to her clothes and hand, but she didn't care. She launched her knife to the other soldier and it planted nicely on his thigh. Mikan didn't care if she took lives, her main goal now was to get their butts out of there.

Mikan ran to the red blinking button on the side of the enormous door and groaned loudly as the door slowly opened. "God dammit!"

Mikan could feel the clock ticking as they fired their rifles. Their ammunition was running low and there was no time to reload. More soldiers came and surrounded them as they parted ways and covered behind a metal crates.

Her gun finally clicked as she ran out of ammo. Their enemies circled their hiding place and soon they were getting their heads shot at. In a desperate attempt, she threw out her array of grenades and shock charge with Tsubasa accompanied her with his frag grenades. The door opened for about fifty centimeters wide. Natsume nodded towards Mikan as they half ran towards the opening. Mikan took the time to reload and flipped her shock charge to the remaining soldiers.

"Tono-senpai, flash bang through the door!" Tono threw an array of flash bangs in every direction. It proved to be effective as behind the door, more than five dozens of soldiers waited for them. It dawned on Mikan. They couldn't get out of there if someone didn't stay and cover the rest as they bolt to their safety. Whispering her goodbyes, she decided to sacrifice herself.

"GO!" Mikan could see the Humvee in the clearing behind the east security room. They made it until the security room when the effects of the flash bang dissipated. She could see the faces of her friends, Kokoro Yome, Kitsuneme and Yuu Tobita waited them anxiously. Feeling sorry all of the sudden, she turned her gaze away.

When Tono, Ruka, Tsubasa and Natsume reached the vehicle and began climbing it, she could see the bullets damaged the vehicle. It was her or nobody at all. Without a slight hesitation and a final glance confirming that they were already set to go, Mikan bid them goodbye.

"Fly, you Idiots!" Before anybody could register her words, she turned around and ran whilst firing her rifle fiercely. In the background she could hear Natsume screaming her name and his desperate attempt in waiting for her. In a second, a shock bullet land on her chest. Mikan screamed as she felt her body convulsed and the electricity surrounded her attacking her every nerves as she fell to the ground with her head slammed onto the hard pavement. In the background she could still Natsume's scream and tires screeching, leaving the place. Mikan smiled slightly, satisfied that they were now safe as her vision began to blur.


	3. Chapter 2 - Surfacing Lies

**I'm really sorry for the very late update. School has become very hectic as finals are approaching quickly, which I'm sure I'm gonna flunk math (again). Calculus is such a bitch.**

 **Thank you very much for the glowing review, though it's not many, I still appreciate it. I'm writing this chapter dedicated to those who are loyal to this story.**

 **Disclaimer : Gakuen Alice and characters ain't mine, except for the OCs.**

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 **Surfacing Lies**

Mikan could feel herself dragged by the arms and half her body was scraping the hard ground. She grunted when her knees hit something hard, causing her to jerk to the side. Coming to consciousness slowly, she began to feel the pain all over her body and the taste of blood on her lips.

Her head felt like a stampede was stomping all over her brain, waking her up from her trance. Suddenly, she felt cold. Like ice running her veins, freezing her blood in a frozen terror. Did they made it? Are they save? Because she couldn't bear the thought of them in one of AAO's interrogation room, being tortured for information within an inch of their lives.

She felt herself stop scraping and the bulky men on her sides opened a door. Lifting her up, they forced her to stand up and pushed her to a chair. The sharp pain of the armrest jamming her hip bone made her unwillingly let out a moan as her vision began to blur.

"I'm disappointed in you."

The curt tone almost made her laugh. Of course they would brought her to him. She was his golden girl, the primary weapon. She was his nuke in his war. She was too precious to be left dead or just rot in a narrow cell. She was sure she had hit her head on the pavement too hard as she settled for a chuckle.

"Good. I was never here to impress you."

Kazuto circled her in a slow step. In his hand was his most precious .44 magnum fully loaded.

Kazuto pulled a chair so close in front of her and sat. He was slightly disheveled, with his hair didn't slicked back like it used to and his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbow. He rested his wrist on his knees and bent down to level his eyes with hers. His piercing green eyes still left her breathless for a moment. The color was so deep and rich, until she couldn't help herself to search his eyes and drowned herself in their depth. For a moment, she marveled how such beautiful creature capable of doing horrible things. Then again, a rose is capable to make someone bleed.

"I advise you to watch your mouth, Yukihira. They could cost heavily to yourself. Now sit still and try to enjoy the show."

Kazuto turned on his laptop and put the external camera on top of the screen. He pulled a microphone cable and plugged it into the laptop. With a few clicks, they laptop came to life, showing her a face so familiar to her.

Fear crept her whole body as she stared at her uncle's stiff form. Kazuto circled her chair and put his hands on the back of the chair whilst leaning his weight.

"How have you been, Yukihira? I imagine it must be comfortable sitting on a throne raised in a pool of blood." He said hostilely. Kazumi Yukihira's expression were taut in an emotion Mikan couldn't explain. It was as if he was in pain and woeful.

"I'm not going to talk to you about my history. I am here for my niece." He glowered. It was the first time she had ever heard her calm and collected uncle show any emotion. Kazuto straightened his body behind her and growled.

"Ah… but your niece need to know, Yukihira, why you sheltered her so much, in point of attempting for her memories to be erased!" He said.

Mikan was wide eyed and her brows furrowed tightly.

"What is he saying?" she asked haunted.

Kazuto removed his hand and crouched on her side. He gazed tauntingly at the camera. "Come now. You're always so straight forward. Why silent now?"

She could see her uncle's grimace. Her heart pounded in her chest and her breathing ragged. Mikan turned her head towards her captor. Her expression darkened laced with fear and confusion. "What the fuck you're trying to tell me?"

Kazuto arched a brow and smiled sardonically for a moment to the camera. "I'm waiting Yukihira. Tell her your epic tale or I'm going to take your silence as a go for me."

Kazumi's lips slightly curled as his eyes was hollow and full of despair. What could he possibly hide, she thought.

"Fine then, time's up." He stated and turned towards Mikan, his face was contorted into an insanely gleeful smile. She felt herself tensed instinctively and braced herself of what he was going to say.

"You do remember a passage from the history book. About a sadistically engineered human race by their genetics." He paused slightly and glanced at the frozen principal. "You said it so profoundly that it was inhumane and insanity in every facets, no matter what is the purpose of that experiment."

He started whilst looking into her expectant eyes. His mouth twitched upward into a jeering smile. "The government erased all history of the man behind the inhumane experiment as per their agreement. I agree that this man was brilliant, insane but brilliant. This special human race were achieved in the early beginning of world war II. During the recess between World War I and II, Japanese forces already sought greater weapons that stronger and massive than nuclear." He paused as he went to look at the screen, gauging Kazumi's reaction. He was still unmoving and stiff, like he had been frozen by Kazuto's words.

"So this man came along, a very recent graduate, bringing a revolution. He experimented on the prisoners of war. Of course, his first try resulted in a failure with the death toll reached a devastating number. Nevertheless he kept trying, regardless of the death toll. I'd like to think those failures was his turning point as he redeveloped his method and formula. He pioneered Japan's genetic engineering.

"He began from scrap again, but now he created his own batch of human fetuses in a very traditional in vitro fertilization. He messed with their chromosomes as they grow. Many didn't survive the method, but some survive in a various physical aberrations and mental problems. It was such a sad and desperate time. Fortunately, his experiment gradually experiencing success. The fetuses began to respond correctly to their change. They were initially called mutants, but this man called them 'Alices'."

"Remember, he could never be trusted!" Kazumi said with desperation laced thickly in his voice. Mikan snapped from the siren song of Kazuto's silk like voice and turned to her uncle's now afraid features.

"You know very well that lies damaged people more than a bullet can. You experienced it first hand after all." Kazuto shot back venomously.

"Shut your mouth, Ishikawa! She didn't deserve the pain!" The principal spat angrily, which really shocked Mikan as it was her first time seeing her uncle's feather ruffled. Kazuto only let out a mocking laugh and stared darkly on the camera.

"Pain? Hah! Maybe she didn't deserve pain, but she deserves to know her root, her history and ultimately her ancestors. Or maybe this is what you deprived of her?"

"She's just a little girl!"

"Oh, yeah eighteen, practically a child."

"Shut up, you two!" She yelled loudly and turned to Kazuto with fire burning in her eyes. She was confused, curious and angry at the same time. No one on both party answered her question, but she felt an obligation to at least defend her uncle.

"Uncle never deprived me of any knowledge! He's honest and truthful! Unlike you, he never told lies to me!"

"Let me ask you a question, have you ever asked him why all those years being a principal he turned blind eye of the suffering of his own kin? Why did he kept ripping children from their parents only to suffer in the academy? And foremost, why did he specially requested for your memories to be erased?" He said tauntingly while observing closely the emotions played in her eyes, some of them satisfied him.

Mikan furrowed her brows and bit her lip. She turned to the camera, silently pleading to her uncle for the answer. Deep inside, her steel strong perspective that Alices were good shook hard. She hoped Kazumi would answer with a very good reason to justify them.

"Mikan, listen to me. It doesn't matter what that bastard said. It was all a lie. He's trying to manipulate you to join him. You need not to listen to him! He's evil! Remember, Mikan, he is the head of an organization who killed your parents." His voice raised an octave higher. Mikan could feel herself doubt his words, but the deep-seated hate for AAO burned at the mention of her parents.

"Evil is only a matter of perspective." He said calmly, too close to her ear for comfort.

Mikan closed her eyes and shook her head in attempt to clear her thoughts. No matter how she didn't like it, her logic doubt that what Kazuto said we're lies. The more the principal tried to dismiss it, the more she believed them.

"I don't know what to believe anymore."

Her voice was small and waivered in the end, but it was enough for Kazuto. He smirked victoriously at the camera. His plan was working and Mikan would soon fall to his hand. Whatever Kazumi screamed at her, they fell onto her deaf ears as her head bowed down staring on her lap. She could feel Kazuto stepped away from her side to do god knows what.

"Listen and listen well, Yukihira. You and I both know that torture is one effective method to get information, they will tell everything to stop the pain. I never promise to never harm you niece." He said finally.

When she lifted her head, the laptop was already turned off and Kazuto was leaning his back to his desk whilst crossing his arms on his chest and gazing her. She held his stare with an unsure emotion. Usually, she would feel hate and anger coursing through her veins when their eyes met. Now, she didn't know what to feel. The hate was still there, but it was withering.

"Is it true?" she started weakly. "And who is this man who invented people like me?" She said desperately.

Kazuto dropped his arms and reached back for his coffee. "It is true." He said lowly and sipped his coffee. "And the man is a story for another day."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"If you want information so badly from my uncle, why don't you just torture me then to taunt him?"

"There's time for everything, Mikan. Besides, right now, you're more valuable unharmed to me."

He took out his pocket knife and cut the rope loose from her hands and legs. He bent down to his knee as he cut the rope. Mikan couldn't believe herself, but she really had this urge to run down her fingers on his smooth looking dark locks and just pulled it until he screamed bloody murder from pain or maybe just sprinted to his desk and shot him with his .44 magnum.

It was a strange sensation really and Mikan couldn't deny it. It is a fact that he was so very attractive and she hated him so much. She sobered up when she felt the ropes loose on her ankles. As soon as she was free, she launched forward with her fist ready to punch his smooth cheek. Kazuto, as if expecting the move, blocked the punch calmly and locked her wrists in his strong grip.

She tried to kick his shin, yet again he was far stronger and quicker. Before her kick could reach anything, he blocked it with his own leg and twisted body. He forced her to kneel and locker her arms to behind her head.

"You seem to expect it." She said through her gritted teeth. Her tone was unfriendly. "Later, Mikan. I'm too tired to play this." Came a deep and husky voice behind her. Kazuto loosen his grip. When he was sure she wasn't going to try and slugged him again, he let her go completely.

Mikan turn to him with her brow furrowed. "Bastard."

"I am a bastard, asshole, motherfucker. Do take a pick, but I'm not a liar."

"Where are they? Are they here?!"

"I can't answer that. See? I'm no liar." He said then sipped his coffee casually. Mikan was about to shot back when Kazuto halted her.

"Choose Mikan. Shut your yap and rest in your room or continue this and go to the cell."

Mikan growled. The primal sound made her grit her teeth. However, she knew better. She didn't need more escort wherever she goes in this compound.

"Good. Now leave." Mikan walked down to the door.

As the guard began to block her way to his office, Kazuto said, "Your friends. I'm sure they'll be very valuable for me."

Mikan launched herself as the guards forced her to back up. "Fuck you, Ishikawa!"

Kazuto chuckled as he chugged down his coffee.

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 **So, a nickel for your reviews? :) if you're a guest reading this, don't hesitate to review too! I'd really like to read your thoughts about this story :) See you in the next chapter.**


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